Post by Kyle Feller on Mar 14, 2012 22:49:32 GMT -5
You want to know the difference between a team that's used to attention and one that's not? Just listen to an NMSU senior and then decide which is which.
"Teams that are intimidated and infatuated by playing bigger name schools, those are the teams that lost by 40," McKines said.
"It's basketball," Laroche said. "We've got great players. They've got great players. It's going to come down to 40 minutes. We're not worried about the name on their jerseys. We're just going to play hard."
JAG Images
New Mexico State star Wendell McKines: "I don't have a swagger. I have an aura about me. You can just feel the energy.
"I don't have a swagger," McKines retorted. "I have an aura about me. You can just feel the energy. So 'swagger,' I wouldn't necessarily use that word. Just the aura in my presence, you can feel like something special is about to happen. That's a better word for it, 'aura.'"
"Once I get involved, they'll know why I got 20."
"It depends on where you look at it," said McKines, who averaged 18.8 points and 10.8 rebounds for the 13th-seeded Aggies (26-9). "From rebounding and scoring, it means a lot to the team perspective, yeah. But I don't really like to compare myself to nobody. I'm special."
McKines and Laroche did sound like Indiana 6-foot-11 freshman Cody Zeller was high on their radar, as expected.
"Wendell is a big rebounder, so I know he's going to step up," Laroche said. "We're ready for the big stage. It's going to be a challenge with Cody Zeller, but I think we've got that.
"They're pretty good in transition," McKines said. "And Zeller, he runs the floor like a deer, so our centers have to be prepared to run the floor. The 3-point line as well. That all starts with our offense taking good shots and offensively rebounding the ball and ball pressure on defense.
"We'll be fine."
"Teams that are intimidated and infatuated by playing bigger name schools, those are the teams that lost by 40," McKines said.
"It's basketball," Laroche said. "We've got great players. They've got great players. It's going to come down to 40 minutes. We're not worried about the name on their jerseys. We're just going to play hard."
JAG Images
New Mexico State star Wendell McKines: "I don't have a swagger. I have an aura about me. You can just feel the energy.
"I don't have a swagger," McKines retorted. "I have an aura about me. You can just feel the energy. So 'swagger,' I wouldn't necessarily use that word. Just the aura in my presence, you can feel like something special is about to happen. That's a better word for it, 'aura.'"
"Once I get involved, they'll know why I got 20."
"It depends on where you look at it," said McKines, who averaged 18.8 points and 10.8 rebounds for the 13th-seeded Aggies (26-9). "From rebounding and scoring, it means a lot to the team perspective, yeah. But I don't really like to compare myself to nobody. I'm special."
McKines and Laroche did sound like Indiana 6-foot-11 freshman Cody Zeller was high on their radar, as expected.
"Wendell is a big rebounder, so I know he's going to step up," Laroche said. "We're ready for the big stage. It's going to be a challenge with Cody Zeller, but I think we've got that.
"They're pretty good in transition," McKines said. "And Zeller, he runs the floor like a deer, so our centers have to be prepared to run the floor. The 3-point line as well. That all starts with our offense taking good shots and offensively rebounding the ball and ball pressure on defense.
"We'll be fine."